Confessions of a Record Producer, 2 Ed: How to Survive the Scams and Shams of the Music Business - Softcover

Avalon, Moses

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0879306602 ISBN 13: 9780879306601

Publisher: Backbeat Books, 2002

Synopsis

(Book). Now completely updated and revised, this streetwise guide helps musicians, producers, and others protect their rights and preserve their assets in today's cutthroat music recording industry. Industry insider Moses Avalon tells it like it is how producers dip into budgets, artists steal songs, labels skim royalties, lawyers write contracts in code and shows readers how to survive in the wake of these and other unfortunate truths. Deconstructing actual major record deals, Avalon dissects each party's involvement and perspective: what they actually do, how much they get paid, and what's really on their agenda. This second edition examines the impact of recent developments in the industry, including Internet file sharing and streaming, mergers and acquisitions, trade associations and their agendas, and more.

About this title

About the Author

Moses Avalon (a pseudonym) began his recording career as an assistant engineer in a small eight-track studio in the early 1980s. Since then, he has engineered and produced records for Warner Brothers, Atlantic Records and BMG, as well as many independent labels. His work with Grammy award-winning recording artists has earned him five Platinum records and several Billboard Awards.

From Booklist

Confession is good for the soul! Over the years, among many other like-minded authors, a stockbroker, a "dirty" ballplayer, a "lapsed" librarian, a corporate headhunter, and an advertising man have all felt the need to atone in print either for their own misdeeds or for those of their profession. Here Avalon pseudonymously exposes the ways the recording industry can take advantage of budding artists. Avalon started in the business 15 years ago as a studio engineer and went on to produce records. He has also composed soundtracks for several independent films and now consults for artist managers, record labels, and investors. Avalon examines the various stages of the record deal. He explains the role of each person involved and suggests what that person's self-interest is. He also contrasts the differences among deals at the major labels, independents, and vanity labels, and he discusses "baby" deals between artists and production companies. Avalon's final cut is a medley of stories, rumors, and myths about ways people can be or have been "ripped-off." Though sometimes too blunt, Avalon provides a caveat that novices could miss out on elsewhere. David Rouse

Edition details

• Publisher: Backbeat Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0879306602
• ISBN 13: 9780879306601
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 256